Broken Harmony

False hope has been given.

Hope itself becomes a bitter memory.

Rainbows will fly away.

I knew I was dreaming. It wasn't hard, because I had this same dream in the past. I think it was memories coming back, but I couldn't always be sure. I knew I never experienced any of these events myself, but I had eventually written it off it as the Elements showing me the world after we were defeated. Memories of the Elements? I don't know.

It started as it usually had. I was in the sky, flying. The world seemed so peaceful. Perfect, almost, but it was cut short by a black shadow moving across the land. I looked up to see the sun. Not because I wanted to see if something was blocking it, but because I knew Celestia was in there somewhere. Waiting. Hoping. Alone.

The shadows stopped. I flew down to take a closer look at what had happened and then the smell hit me. It smelled like something was burning. It was unfamiliar, but it reminded me of.... burns. As I got closer everything changed. The shadows were no longer permeating the ground which now gave me a clear look at the ruined cities, burned out towns, and bodies.

When I first had this dream I couldn't sleep for a few days. I would be crazy if I wasn't disturbed by this all, but it still hurt to know what had happened following our failure. The pain in my heart was back. I'm an Element. I'm the Element of Loyalty! I let everyone down. If I hadn't... it's my fault all this happened. If I didn't grab that stupid amulet from Trixie, then maybe everything would have been alright, but I did grab the amulet and I invited that corrupting power into my body. I'm sor-

"Rainbow Dash!"

I was awake in an instant. I yawned as my mind began to reboot slowly. Whoever was at the door better have a good reason for waking me up so early. I just shook my head and made my way to the door. I stopped on one side, but didn't bother to open it. "Who is it?" I asked with a yawn in between.

"It's me you silly filly!" I froze. Pinkie?

"Pinkie Pie?! I-is that you?!" I shouted out as I swung the door open; effectively ripping it off it's hinges.

"No."

I looked up into those piercing green eyes. The alicorn smiled as her horn began to glow.

"-inbow Dash!"

Huh?

"Rainbow Dash! Wake up!"

Someone was calling my name. I really don't want to wake up right now. The Weather Team could get along fine without me. Maybe I'll go see Twilight today. Last I heard she had the latest Daring Do novel and I couldn't wait to get my hooves on it, but sleep was still number one on my internal checklist. Daring Do could wait until I got some more sleep.

Fluttershy was probably awake by now and was probably feeding her animals. Food. Right, breakfast. Maybe sleep could wait.

"Rainbow Dash. I said, WAKE UP!"

I opened my eyes as the haze of memories disappeared into the back of my mind, again. I looked to the side of the bed to see Gilda impatiently tapping her claws against the floor. She didn't look too happy about my trying to sleep all day.

I yawned. I couldn't think of anything to say at first, so I just stared blankly with half lidded eyes for a few seconds before I finally spoke. "Oh, good morning, Gilda." At least, that's what I thought I said, but Gilda nodded.

"I know it's a bit early, RD, but I need you to come with me. The outer patrol reported some strange activity not too far from the town," she said with a hint of nervousness as she turned and made her way to the door, "I need to send someone in to check it out, but all my griffins are too large to even have a speck of stealth inside them."

All I could do was nod. Gilda was right about the griffins. They were far too large and cumbersome to be of any use in a stealth mission. Not only is their armor heavy and loud, but their wings make a lot of noise when they fly. They may be stronger, but griffins were not as fast or quiet as a pegasus. Gilda seemed alright with my lack of an answer and exited the room. It was going to be a long day. Tomorrow, I told myself. Tomorrow I have to leave.

The sun was still rising when I left my quarters. The sun. Celestia. I always thought the sun would just disappear if Celestia was absent, but it appeared that the mystery alicorn has taken it upon herself to raise both the moon and the sun. That alone could tell you how powerful she really was.

I was still watching the sunrise when Gilda the Griffin landed beside me. I had heard her coming, because, like I said, they're too loud. We didn't talk for awhile as we both watched the sunrise. It was nice. For a second you could forget the world was dying and there was nothing you could do about it, but to keep fighting. It was quiet in the town so I guess that added to the moment.

"Let's go RD," Gilda said as she began the walk to the main gate, "We should do this before everypony wakes up."

I nodded and followed alongside.

A few minutes had passed when we reached the gate, but I wasn't really keeping track of the time. My mind was too preoccupied with the gate being wide open and there being a lack of guard griffins. It made sense, I guess. Twilight must have made this forcefield of hers to be impenetrable. With the help of the Element's magic, maybe it was impossible to break through. What's the point of having the gate closed when there's an invincible shield just outside of it, right?

"It's a few miles north of the city. My griffins couldn't get a good look, but they say they saw some of the "princesses" royal guards." Gilda didn't seem too bothered by this fact. She just simply rolled her eyes and stood before the forcefield. Why wasn't she stepping through? I was about to ask when Gilda answered.

"I can't leave the town," she said, turning to face me, "I have duties here that need my full attention. I trust you can handle this on your own?"

I waved a dismissive hoof and grinned, "In my sleep." I expected her to smile, but she simply walked back into town without looking back. Well, that's weird. Maybe she isn't much of a morning griffin. I shook my head to clear it. Right, just in and out. Easy.

Either the griffins were really stupid, or I was being setup. Both.

The clearing was empty. Nothing but rocks and the occassional plume of dust in the wind. Why would they send me here if- then it hit me. Why hadn't I noticed before?! Maybe I was too tired, or maybe I was the stupid one here. I knew Gilda better than anyone, but I just assumed her strange behavior was due to her supposed change. I took one last look at the empty clearing. I should have seen this coming. I was in Hope for a week and there was no disturbance of any kind. My Element should have been tracked, but they never came. Unless... the forcefield. It must be blocking magic from going in or out. Leave it to Twilight to think of every possible scenario, but I don't think anyone was prepared for this. The second I left the protection of the magic blocking forcefield was the second the alicorn would be able to track the inate magic that lay within the Element itself. Wait, why am I here and going off on an inner monologue when I could be flying back?

That was all the push I needed as I took to the sky. If they were already there, then stealth was no longer an issue. Thanks to the wind cancelling enchantments around my armor, I rainboomed straight for Hope.

A few miles was nothing when I was going at the speed of sound. Ten seconds later, I had already landed and was making my way through the forcefield.

It was quiet. Too quiet. I shook my head. No time for bad wordplay. With my mind set, I began walking into the town at a cautious pace. It felt strange to see the entire town empty like this. It was always full of ponies and griffins doing whatever they needed to do during the day, but it was now a quiet and creepy ghost town.

"I hadn't expected you to come back so early, Rainbow Dash."

It was Gilda's voice, but I knew better. Gilda was a lot like myself and she wouldn't be up early just so she could wake me up and tell me to go do something. I knew Gilda and her eyes weren't green. I turned around to see what looked like Gilda smiling at me. Those green eyes were unmistakable. I doubt the alicorn would make an appearance, so there was only one other explanation.

I got into a battle stance and held my head low in anger. "I thought you learned your lesson the first time," I said through clenched teeth, "Chrysalis!"

Gilda laughed, but it was no longer her voice. "I knew you would figure it out eventually, but it's too late. The Princess shall be here shortly. I didn't think my slip-up on the eye color would go so unnoticed," she said with a smile, "But it appears I had overestimated you, Element bearer."

I wouldn't be surprised if my coat was suddenly red. She tricked me, insulted me, possibly hurt Gilda, and has now endangered the lives of everypony in this town.

It's your fault. You fell for this simple trap

N-no, it's not my fault!

You followed her commands. You betrayed everyone, because you were too stupid

I'm not stupid! I didn't betray anyone!

Was I seriously doing this? I pushed those thoughts to the back of my head. I could beat myself up over this later. I just hope I wasn't too late to do anything.

Chrysalis would already be dead if the daggers I glared had been real. Maybe it was my fault, but I'll be damned if I let her hurt anypony else.

"Where's Gilda?!" I was surprised at the volume of my voice and Chrysalis even took a step back. Was it the enchantments on the armor? Chrysalis, still as Gilda, smiled and regained her composure.

"I'm sure she'll be alright, little pony," she began with a hint of laughter, "She's made of much tougher stuff than she lets on."

Your fault.

I continued to push those thoughts to the back of my head.

"I hope for your sake that she isn't hurt," I said with a slight stomp of my hoof, "Otherwise I'll have to hurt you pretty bad."

My threats seemed to roll off of her as she began to laugh.

"Tell me, Element bearer, what can you possibly do to hurt me?" she said with enthusiam, "I am a Queen and you are nothing but a lowly warrior who is long past their due."

You can't beat her.

No, but I can make it hurt.

The Queen of the Changling's mouth was open in shock and surprise. She was on the ground a few feet away and her griffin disguise was gone, and, to top if off, two hoof prints were embedded firmly into her chest.

"W-what?! Y-you're not that f-fast! Nopony is t-that fast!" she stammered in surprise as I stood over her.

"I'm just full of surprises aren't I?" I didn't want to give away the secret of my speed. For all I knew, she could take apart the enchantments in my armor. I knew Twilight, and she would be pissed if she found out all her hard work was taken apart by the Changling Queen.

/ZZZZZTTTT/

Huh? Why was I looking up? I was- oh.

"But you're not fast enough it would seem, little pony." The Queen was already on all fours. Her horn was glowing. Crap.

I got back onto my hooves and shook off the dirt. I didn't even see her horn glow when she hit me. Someone's been practicing, but unfortunately for her so had I. Five years of constant battle can really teach you how to approach enemies who could sling magic around.

Chrysalis began circling me. I had to keep an eye out. My armor may protect me from elemental attacks, as it seemed to do, it wouldn't protect me from blunt force. I focused some of my Elemental magic into my necklace and kept the thought of a forcefield in my head. If she was going to sling powerful magic around, I needed help from the Element that hung around my neck.

Chrysalis let out a sickly green bolt of magic and I quickly brought up the shield. The bolt slammed against it and disappeared. That didn't feel like an all out attack. She was testing my ability. This was bad, because if I used all my tricks at once, she would learn how to deal with them rather quickly. I had to end this as quickly as possible.

She sent out a few more bolts only to be stopped by my forcefield. Usually, whatever magic the Element had would nearly be drained, but I think the magic that surrounded the armor gave it some extra juice to stay up. Thanks, Twilight.

The Changling continued to circle me. I was watching her legs when it hit me. First, it was literal, but I then realized what she was doing. We were nearing the town center where the concrete sun- oh no. I guess she hadn't expected me back so soon. I suppose she decided to do the next best thing and push me to the center of town. It's no wonder her attacks were half-assed up until now. How could I be so stupid!

It will always be your fault.

I shook my head. These thoughts were seriously becoming annoying.

Another bolt of magic broke me out of my inner monologue and I glared at the Queen, but that's when I saw some movement behind her. I moved slightly to the right and saw Gilda, who was covered in cuts and bruises, sneaking behind Chrysalis. She winked at me and continued her silent approach.

I looked back to the Queen and just in the nick of time as another bolt slammed against my shield which caused me to stagger back. She was tapping into more mojo that time. It was only a matter of time before she decided to let loose, and, if her status was anything to go by, she was extremely powerful. Not in the same ballpark with the Princesses, but she was well above any regular unicorn.

I needed a plan. No, she would figure it out. I needed an anti-plan. Something that would take her by surprise and leave her flank open for attack. Oh. It was so simple! Even I was surprised by my train of thought, so it just might work.

"Hey! Holes for brains!" I shouted with a grin. "CHARGE!"

I galloped straight for her. I expected her to take a step back in surprise, but she stood her ground. Oh well, it's too late to turn back now. I looked behind her to see Gilda had already taken to the air and was coming down on Chrysalis from behind. It was going to work, is what I would like to say, but I noticed the glint in her eyes as she saw what I was doing. Oh. Crap.

She disappeared in a flash of green as Gilda crashed into my chest and sent us both rolling to the ground. Ow.

"Shit, RD! You were supposed to be distracting her!" Gilda shouted as she got up.

"Me?! You're blaming this on me?! You're the one with wings the size of a house! It's no wonder she heard you coming!" I yelled back.

We both went silent and turned our heads to face Chrysalis, who was laughing at the both of us. Gilda and I both had the same idea as we took a step forward. That was a mistake. Chrysalis was right infront the concrete sun statue; her horn aglow. I knew what was coming next and I'll be damned if I let it happen. I flapped my wings a few times as I shot off like a bullet towards Chrysalis.

All your fault.

What?! I suddenly realized what was happening as if time had slowed to a crawl. I saw Chrysalis holding Gilda down. I turned to look at the Chrysalis standing infront of me with a grin right before I phased right through the copy and crashed shoulder first into the sun statue.

You've done it now.

I quickly recovered and looked down to the chunks of concrete and rock that was once the concrete sun. A symbol of Hope and a beacon of light in these times of darkness. Now it was gone.

You've failed them all. Just like before.

I closed my eyes. I heard the sound of the barrier shattering around the town.

It will always be your fault. You can't stop it.

I was right. It was my fault. I let everyone down.

You don't belong here.

I didn't open my eyes as I took to the sky. I didn't open my eyes as I chose a direction to fly in. I didn't open my eyes until the tears began to sting.

It's all my fault. Just like before. I let everyone down.